VoIP News: July 2008

Analysys Mason publish wireless broadband findings

Wireless broadband is expected to create significant opportunities for revenue growth, according to a report by telecoms advisers Analysys Mason.

Around $784 billion in service revenue will be created by 2.1 billion wireless broadband users worldwide by 2015, the company predicts.

Continued wireless technology developments, device improvements and flexible pricing options will be behind the 2400 per cent increase in revenue.

HSPA will dominate at the end of 2008, supporting 88 per cent of customers, and will continue to be important, although less so by 2015.

"Despite the increasing availability of LTE and WiMAX, HSPA and HSPA+ will still support 54 per cent of wireless broadband users by the end of 2015," said the reports co-author, Dr Mark Heath.

The report found that LTE will take off slowly but will serve 440 million by 2015, while WiMAX will only have 98 million users by then.

Developing regions will play a heavy part too, as the lack of fixed-line infrastructure will fuel demand for wireless, meaning that in 2015 these areas will make up 57 per cent of consumers worldwide, up from 17 per cent at the end of this year.

Posted on: 2008-07-31, in: Broadband

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VoIP gets thumbs-up from Wall Street journalist

Using VoIP when abroad has been recommended by a writer for the Wall Street Journal.

Brett Arends writes that being able to use a mobile when abroad is "invaluable", but that the price of doing so can end up being "cripplingly expensive".

To get round this, he recommends setting up a VoIP account while at home then buying a cheap mobile in the country being visited (or getting a SIM for a currently-owned mobile, but this requires the mobile to work in the country).

It is then simple to reroute the VoIP account to the mobile and an added bonus is that anyone who needs to call can do it using the same number as usual.

He says the price saving will be significant.

"How much it will cost will depend on which services you use and where you are," writes Mr Arends.

"But it is likely to be cents per minute rather than dollars.

Mr Arends writes an online personal finance and investing column for the Wall Street Journal.

Posted on: 2008-07-31, in: General VoIP

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VoIP phones ease council's fire disruption

Fife Council's decision to adopt VoIP phones has meant 60 staff are able to continue working after a fire at their headquarters.

Despite the fire being restricted to one room, IT systems were affected which meant Catering & Cleaning and Procurement & Supplies staff were left with no telephone or computer access and had to be relocated.

However, because of the VoIP phones versatility, it was a simple procedure to transfer all the operations to separate buildings, and employees could use their extension numbers to log into other council telephones.

No external supplier or IT service was required, meaning there was no additional cost.

"It made it one less thing to worry about and allowed the teams to speedily get people back working again with the minimum of disruption," said the council's senior IT manager.

"It is proof the phones and our contingency plans have worked - and these are just part of a modernising programme that will help Fife to become a top performing council."

The VoIP solution was rolled out over the council during the last 18 months, and required the replacement of 12,000 telephones.

Posted on: 2008-07-30, in: General VoIP

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TOHO cinemas get VoIP solution

More than 30 TOHO cinemas in Japan have installed a VoIP solution using Asterisk hardware.

TOHO wanted extensions for VoIP phones in each cinema's screening room integrated with the existing PBX in the theatre, while networking all the theatres together.

This VoIP solution was achieved with Asterisk hardware, specifically an Asterisk IP telephone server.

TOHO now has a single voice and data network, with internet access and mail on its VPN service.

The network used switches and gateways by Quintum.

"TOHO Cinemas' implementation is an excellent example of how companies are deploying VoIP in their networks to add new capabilities while leveraging the investment in their existing voice infrastructure," said Chuck Rutledge, vice president of marketing for Quintum.

"TOHO was able to gain key benefits with added capabilities and lower costs at a fraction of the price of 'fork-lifting' out their existing PBXs for a complete IP telephony system replacement."

An independent film studio, TOHO has been behind some of the most well-known films in cinema history, from Godzilla to Seven Samurai.

The company has also produced television programmes and video games.

Posted on: 2008-07-29, in: General VoIP, VoIP Hardware

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Gartner: quarter of homes worldwide will have broadband by 2012

By 2012 a quarter of households worldwide will have a broadband connection, according to Gartner.

The number of connections will grow from 323 million last year to 499 million by 2012 which is a jump from 18 to 25 per cent of worldwide households, the analysts predict.

Canada, Holland, Switzerland, South Korea and Hong Kong are the only countries with 60 per cent home broadband penetration currently and these countries are expected to remain leaders by 2012, although countries like the UK and the USA will be moving closer by then.

The UK currently has 58 per cent penetration, with 74 per cent expected to be reached by 2012.

"Depending on the specific market conditions, availability of internet-enabled devices and the continued impact of broadband on consumer lifestyles, we expect some markets will have a broadband ceiling at 80 per cent penetration or greater," said principal research analyst, Amanda Sabia.

The high penetration in the countries which scored over 60 per cent was put down to the fact that they were either small, dense countries or had government investment in broadband.

These factors were expected to help them maintain their lead.

Posted on: 2008-07-28, in: Broadband

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